I See No Point Defending Rudeus Character as a Person

Cravingelf said:
I doubt he would’ve even tried to groom sylphy if not for paul saying the outta pocket shit he did, but smashing eris on the other hand was wierd for us but the aoc(age of consent) is 13 in Japan I heard they are raising it by 3 years but I honestly think rudy is a true degenerate but what do u expect from a 30 year old neet

StaleNut said:
The guy above me doesn't understand what portrayal is. I really hate how humans today have shifted the purpose of art from portrayal to promotion. Just goes to show how dumb and unnecessarily "woke" we are becoming.

LostSpectre said:
What the fuck are you even talking about?

StaleNut said:

Rudeus is a good character because he's a realistic representation of a fucked up shut-in weirdo who does fucked up things. A story that needs to condemn its characters for anything is just trying too hard to appeal to the braindead normies who can't comprehend the fact that promoting social and political causes isn't what art is meant to do.

LostSpectre said:
If the story doesn't condemn his actions there's no complexity to his character in that regard, like if we were supposed to grapple with him being this creepy, borderline pedophile while he is also a victim of abuse himself who wants to do better. However, I'm calling bullshit on the entire idea that the author presents him as a character you should hate for being a perv/pedo, because it's only ever used for comedy/eroticism, the dude just wanted to put a bunch of eroge stuff in his story, you aren't supposed to take Rudy seriously as a disgusting creep, in these instances you're supposed to conveniently forget he's actually a 34 yr old lolicon, and not just a 10(?) yr old pervy kid.

StaleNut said:

Miura Kentaro does not condemn Griffith for anything, neither does Hajime Isayama condemn Eren for anything. Is there a hidden message the authors wanted to give through these characters? Yes. However they never blatantly give you this message by condemning these characters, they give it through portrayal, that's what makes storytelling complex.

Now, if you call bullshit on the points made by the OP, fair enough, it's your opinion. But there are clear hints throughout the story, that give a message though Rudeus. You see how Rudeus could have avoided becoming a shut-in neet in his previous life, through his new experiences and the ppl around him. Family, friends etc, everyone around Rudeus plays a role in his change. His second life is clearly not the same as his previous one. There is growth and depth to his character, you just need to stop taking everything so straightforwardly and notice the little things. Anyways, that's just my thoughts.

DarkHomieC said:
I almost called this post out for being a bait post, but this is a really good take.

Rudy is character that shouldn’t be defended (even the author has stated that), he is a character that should be looked at as being well written and developed. It is night and day later in the story from what his character was in the early parts of the story. In my opinion Rudy is one the best written MCs in anime, on top of being one of the best Isekai MCs.

LostSpectre said:
Hence, why I said that his redemption is only concerned with Rudy as a shut-in victim of abuse himself, the author hasn't given me any reason to think he needs to be redeemed in terms of his creepy behavior, I simply don't view that element of his character in a "logical" sense, similar to how a female character might knock a male character through a wall, leaving his face a bloody swollen mess. Obviously, this is an extremely serious case of assault and we should view the perpetrator as being dangerous, violent, psychopath...oh, wait, he's.. completely fine in the next panel? Well shit, I guess that just means it's funny now.

FZREMAKE said:
I think we all know that rudeus is supposed to be a pathetic perverted scum of society but that still doesnt make him a good character. That still doesnt make his actions justified. He is still a flawed character since his actions are never condemned nor are there any real consequences against him. It all works in his favor for being a scum. His portrayal is completely unrealistic and unjustified. There is no reason for me to believe that he will become better. There is no reason for me to root for him even when he becomes better. His so called character development or redemption wont instantly cause me to like him and find him as a good character.

StaleNut said:

Would you condemn a child for touching another child in a weird way? No, because they're a child. You'd tell him not to do that again, but you wouldn't treat him like a criminal and throw him in jail. How can the author condemn Rudeus' actions, when every other character views Rudeus as a normal child? You do realize intervening with that fact, would ruin the coherence of the story right? Ah yes, let's make Eris beat the shit out of him, and show his actions have consequences.

Now obviously there is a clear comedic effect the author is trying to achieve through those types of scenes. Which doesn't really work properly considering western audiences will see a huge problem with these scenes, given the context of Rudeus having the memories of a grown ass man. But at the same time, the author just views this as a work of fiction. And we all know japanese ppl couldn't care any less what happens in a work of fiction, as long as it doesn't have an effect on the real world, unlike westerners who are always concerned with mixing reality with fiction.

LostSpectre said:
That's where the misconception lies, him being a perv/pedo is just there because the author was a huge fan of eroges and stories with sexual content. That's why it's never condemned, and it's either played for comedy or eroticism, it was never a serious part of his moral character or a reason to redeem himself. This sort of tonal disregard for him as a creepy pedo can be very confusing to the viewer, because the core of his redemption is on Rudy as a victim himself, it has virtually nothing to do with him being an immoral person.

LostSpectre said:
The author could easily frame his actions in a negative light if that was his intention, but it simply isn't, he has no interest in Rudy being a perv/pedo playing into his moral character, because these things are simply not supposed to be taken literally, you have to view it in a sort of meta-sense, like how in some shows there's a "lolicon" character, but they aren't treated like an actual pedophile, they're treated with sort of the same regard that the viewer would be treated if they're a lolicon. Anyway, it at least seems like you somewhat agree with me that the audience isn't supposed to take this aspect of his character literally.

FZREMAKE said:

I will not say that what you said is completely true but even if thats the case, You cant except me to take this stuff seriously. If anything, it is a flaw to portray him like that. Him being immoral might be for comedy but it is still his personality now and one of his negative points.

StaleNut said:

Well, the author has made some comments showing he doesn't really care about how ppl view Rudeus. Which does prove some of your points. To me that still doesn't change much when it comes to his complexity as a character, since I disregard comic relief moments when they're not the main focus of a show, regardless of how out of place they may seem.

RabbitBeardy said:
Rudeus is a piece of shit of human being, at least that's what happens in part 1. And you're not supposed to defend him, he's a pedo and quite a scum. He tried to groom Sylpy and having sex with Eris. And that's the point of his character, the series start at the lowest point of his life and start to progress for better throughout the series. This early part of the story serve as base for his character and introduction to how much of a scum he is. You should recognized him as who he is(a pedo, scum, etc) instead of defending his character, this low point also make his development even more apparent and amazing in the later part of the series. The point of his series is, are you willing to give rudeus a chance, a redemption arc for his character and accompany him throughout his life journey or just rejected it all and condemn him for his past action and refusing to give him a chance to change, to be a better person?

Plus having him being a bad person doesn't mean he's poorly written character, rudeus is very well realized and well written character. Plus having first person perspective only making it worse because all the his bad thoughts were out in the open for everyone to see. It's normal to don't liking him as a character because that's the point, you shouldn't like him in the part 1, but at least you understand where he's coming from and what kind of person he is. My point is stop defending Part 1 Rudeus, because he really is a scum, but at least acknowledge his development and growth instead of judging and condemn him for his past and refusing to acknowledge that he's change for better albeit only a little.

RabbitBeardy said:
Rudeus is a piece of shit of human being, at least that's what happens in part 1. And you're not supposed to defend him, he's a pedo and quite a scum. He tried to groom Sylpy and having sex with Eris. And that's the point of his character, the series start at the lowest point of his life and start to progress for better throughout the series. This early part of the story serve as base for his character and introduction to how much of a scum he is. You should recognized him as who he is(a pedo, scum, etc) instead of defending his character, this low point also make his development even more apparent and amazing in the later part of the series. The point of his series is, are you willing to give rudeus a chance, a redemption arc for his character and accompany him throughout his life journey or just rejected it all and condemn him for his past action and refusing to give him a chance to change, to be a better person?

Plus having him being a bad person doesn't mean he's poorly written character, rudeus is very well realized and well written character. Plus having first person perspective only making it worse because all the his bad thoughts were out in the open for everyone to see. It's normal to don't liking him as a character because that's the point, you shouldn't like him in the part 1, but at least you understand where he's coming from and what kind of person he is. My point is stop defending Part 1 Rudeus, because he really is a scum, but at least acknowledge his development and growth instead of judging and condemn him for his past and refusing to acknowledge that he's change for better albeit only a little.

LostSpectre said:
That's the thing, I'm telling you not to take it seriously. The story only "works" if you ignore any moral connotations to his pervy/pedo behavior, because it's simply not intended to frame him in a negative light. He's being redeemed for dying as a 34 yr old loser who accomplished nothing, largely in part due to the abuse he suffered, he's not being condemned for his obviously inappropriate behavior towards children, because well, the author actually wants you to like the lolicon stuff. lol

FZREMAKE said:

How can I not take it seriously when its part of his character and the part of the show. If anything, I cant take the serious part of MT seriously because of the character flaws.

LostSpectre said:
I can think of so many examples in anime where you shouldn't interpret something literally, why should this be different?

FZREMAKE said:

Because it goes to the extreme. Because its being portrayed that way. Because it made me feel its being portrayed that way. Because it knows its flaws yet goes on with it. Because it has serious moment that cant be taken seriously because of this. Because this is a flaw of the series. Because this is a flaw of the character. Because the series would be completely different if weren't for that. Because I cant seem to like it.

LostSpectre said:
Those all sound like reasons you shouldn't take it seriously, since that's clearly not the intention of the author, but I digress.

FZREMAKE said:

Hmmm. Even it isnt the intent of the author, thats the intent of the series. Or at least thats how its being portrayed. I dont know what the writer is thinking when he is writing his stories so I cant say what he wants me to think. I as a viewer can only think what I can see in the series. The writers thoughts and messages aligning with his work can be decided later.

LostSpectre said:
It's not the intent of the series or how it's portrayed. The intent of the series is for you to enjoy pervy lolicon fanservice, for better or worse. lol

FZREMAKE said:

Is that really the intent of the series? I wonder. Some people say that the intent is redemption and then you say that the intent is fan service. I believe that even the Author doesn't know the intent himself.

LostSpectre said:
I'm not talking about the whole series, I'm talking about Rudy being a pedo, it's for the viewer to have juicy lolicon fanservice to enjoy, not to literally view him as human garbage. Now, if you ask me why lolicon fanservice, especially through text, should be common place enough to be well received by the audience, I don't really have an answer for you, but that's the situation we're in.

FZREMAKE said:

Oh I see. Well I cant call it fan service either cause it failed to serve its purpose. Its horrible. Btw being pedo is what makes him a human garbage.

LostSpectre said:
Yeah, western audiences have certainly been divided on his portrayal as a perv/pedo when it's clear that he doesn't face consequences for his actions, and that the author wants you to find it funny (or worse) erotic, there's a serious conflict of interest here between the premise of the series and shoehorning in loli fanservice. I just assume that Japan is a lot more tolerant about this stuff, but I wouldn't want to read anything sexual involving kids through text, that's weirder than seeing an obviously fake cartoon in similar circumstances. Anyway, that's just how it goes.

Shadow_Master8 said:
I hate when people defend characters like that before we even get to the character development. It’s like when anime watched hated Gabi but manga readers were defending her. LIKE NO, LET THE FUCKING ANIME WATCHERS HATE UNTIL WE GET TO THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, I hate people like that with all my soul.

DeJota_3 said:

bro thinks this is twitter 😭😭